A Serializer-Deserializer (SerDes) is an electronic circuit used in high-speed applications to convert data between serial and parallel interfaces. Typically, a first SerDes interface is implemented at a transmitting device (e.g., a communication device, an interface adaptor, a semiconductor chip, electronic circuit, etc.) and a second SerDes interface is implemented at a receiving device. The SerDes interfaces allow these devices to transmit and receive data serially over a differential line or channel, therefore reducing the number of input/output (I/O) pins or interconnects that would otherwise be required between if a parallel transmission of the same data between the two devices were performed.
There are many different electronic communication standards in use today. For example, USB 3.0 is the third major version of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) standard. Among other features, USB 3.0 adds a transfer mode referred to as “SuperSpeed” (SS), which is capable of transferring data at up to 5 Gbit/s (625 MB/s). The Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) is another high-speed communication bus standard that is capable of transferring data at 2 Gbit/s (250 MB/s) to over 15 Gbit/s (˜2000 MB/s), depending upon the application. Serial ATA (SATA) is yet another bus interface that connects host bus adapters to mass storage devices, such as hard disk drives and optical drives.
The inventors hereof have recognized that designing a single SerDes to support all standards is a challenge, as the requirements for each standard are different. Designing a circuit with features/blocks designed for each particular standard individually is possible, but it is not feasible in terms of silicon or Printed Circuit Board (PCB) area and design cycle-time. Accordingly, to address these and other concerns, the inventors hereof have developed systems and methods for a universal SerDes transmitter physical layer (“PHY,” or layer 1) architecture.